|
 |
Apr-17-2008Stores to shoppers: Spend your tax rebate here, get a bonus(topic overview)
CONTENTS:
SOURCES
FIND OUT MORE ON THIS SUBJECT
As the last taxpayers filed their 2007 returns, Hoffman Estates-based Sears Holdings Corp. offered an incentive for''consumers to spend their government stimulus checks at its stores by offering a''gift card worth an additional 10 percent of the check amount. The promotion, however, is designed only''for those receiving paper checks, not those due to receive their''stimulus payments''via direct deposit. If a taxpayer has elected to receive''her refund by direct deposit, her stimulus payment will also be delivered that way,''according to the Web site''of the Internal Revenue Service.'' Otherwise the stimulus payment, a maximum of $600 per person, will be paid by check.'' According to spokeswoman Kirsten Whipple, Sears, which operates approximately 3,800 full-line and specialty retail stores in the U.S. and Canada,'' is planning a separate online coupon option for those who chose to receive direct deposits, but nothing has been finalized yet. '''Sears is brilliant to take advantage of the situation,''' said Ken K., 57, a participant in an anti-war protest at the Chicago Loop post office, who said he refused to pay his taxes this year. He said, the government handout "is just increasing the debt. It's just passing it on to our children and our grandchildren." The promotion, scheduled to last from May 14 to July 19, 2008, gives customers the opportunity to convert the entire amount of their stimulus check into gift cards, including a separate bonus gift card worth an additional 10 percent of the total amount of the check. [1] Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday it plans on offering a 10 percent bonus to anyone who converts their fiscal-stimulus checks into a Sears or Kmart gift card. The announcement came as many scrambled to turn in their taxes, which are due at midnight. Fiscal stimulus checks are expected later this year. Customers can present their checks at a cash register at Sears and Kmart to convert it into a gift card at the full value of the check, and to receive a bonus gift card worth 10 percent of the check.[2]
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) will offer a 10% bonus to every customer who converts their government stimulus checks into gift cards at Sears or Kmart. The Hoffman Estates, Ill., holding company for the retailers said Tuesday that when customers bring their stimulus checks to a Sears or Kmart and convert the full amount of the check into gift cards, they'll receive a bonus gift card worth an additional 10% from May 14 to July 19.[3] Sears and Kmart will give you an extra 10% of the total of your government stimulus check if you bring it to the store and convert it into gift cards. Sears Holdings Corp., the parent company for both chains, made the announcement yesterday. Expect to see lots of similar offers from retailers who want you to spend the money with them.[4]
Sears will offer a 10 percent bonus to consumers who convert their upcoming economic stimulus checks into a Sears or Kmart gift card. Customers can present their checks, which the Internal Revenue Service will begin sending in early May, to a sales associate at Sears or Kmart to have it converted into a gift card for the full value. Customers will receive their bonus gift card worth 10 percent of their check that can be redeemed at any Sears, Kmart or Lands' End retail stores, as well as the Sears or Lands' End Web sites.[5] Once cashed, the gift cards are eligible to be used interchangeably at Sears, Kmart and Lands' End retail stores as well as online at sears.com or landsend.com. '''It sounds like a good idea,''' said Gwen S., 58, a nurse's assistant from Chicago.'' Expecting to receive only a $300 stimulus check,''she noted that the money would help her out tremendously. But''she won't spend her check at any store.'' '''I have other plans for my check,''' she added. The government stimulus payments are expected to be released as early as May 2 for those who chose direct deposit and May 16 for paper checks.[1]
If you have a $600 stimulus check, you would get $660 worth of gift cards. Sears and Kmart will start advertising in May to promote this offer.[4] From May 14 to July 19, Sears Holdings will give a 10 percent bonus to anyone who shows up at a Sears or Kmart cash register to buy a gift card with a stimulus check.[6]
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. Sears Holdings Corp. is cutting another 100 jobs at its headquarters as it continues to reduce costs in the face of weak sales. The owner of the Kmart and Sears retail chains told employees at its Hoffman Estates base about the latest cuts Wednesday. The cuts amount to 2 percent of its headquarters staff of 5,000 and come just two months after the retailer eliminated 200 other jobs there.[7] In the second wave of layoffs this year, Sears Holdings Corp. eliminated about 100 jobs at its Hoffman Estates headquarters on Wednesday in an ongoing attempt to shore up profits.[8]
Sears Holdings spokesman Chris Brathwaite says the company needs to constantly improve the way it does business and continuously look for ways to reduce expenses. The job cuts come as Chairman Edward Lampert looks for ways to turn around the company created when he engineered Kmart Holding's purchase of Sears, Roebuck and Co. in 2005.[7] One employee who received a pink slip said the reductions happened in departments including operations, logistics and store support. The staff cuts come as Sears' chairman and biggest stakeholder Edward Lampert faces mounting pressure to fix the company he created three years ago by combining Kmart and Sears.[8]
After some initial success boosting profits with the help of cost cuts and investment gains, Lampert ran into trouble last fall as the housing-market crisis began. The retailer relies heavily on appliance sales, which accounted for about 15 percent of its 2007 revenue, or $7.6 billion, according to Sears' annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lampert has much of his wealth tied up in Sears with a 49.6 percent stake through his elite hedge fund ESL Investments Inc. Sears' poor performance, combined with some other ill-timed equity investments, pushed the investment guru off Institutional Investor's Alpha magazine's 2007 annual ranking of top hedge-fund managers, released Wednesday. "In 2008 we need to reverse much of the profit erosion we experienced in 2007," said Lampert in his annual letter to shareholders earlier this year. "It won't be easy, especially if the economy stays soft."[8]
The $168 billion stimulus package was initiated by President Bush and approved by Congress to get Americans spending. Recent surveys have shown that most people would rather use their rebates to pay down debt. "The consumer is feeling a lot of pressure from credit card companies to get their credit bills under control," Beemer said. Retailers have their own message: Spend it. "We understand the situation they're in given the state of the economy," said Kevin Brown, vice president of marketing services for Sears Holdings. "We have them covered, and that check is going to go a lot of further with us."[6] Sears is still working out the details for consumers whose stimulus checks are direct deposited. Those shoppers will likely be able to register online to receive a coupon to bring into the store. If you need a big-ticket item or two, this might be something to consider.[5]
The cards can be redeemed at any Sears, Kmart or Lands' End retail stores, as well as sears.com and landsend.com, Hoffman Estates, Ill. -based Sears said.[2] The gift cards can be redeemed at Sears, Kmart and Lands' End retail outlets as well as on Sears and Lands' End's Web sites.[3]
Retail industry consultant Jim Dion was less than impressed with Sears' plan. '''Some people will take advantage of it,''' he said, yet '''most consumers are smarter.''' Using the promotion to make big purchases such as expensive appliances makes sense, he added, but in order for the incentive to be worthwhile, the consumer would have to use the card '''within 30 days or less--if not immediately.''' Will other retailers imitate the Sears plan? "I hope not," he declared. [1] In January, Wal-Mart launched an "economic stimulus plan," cutting prices 10 to 30 percent on certain items. "I think you'll see every retailer try everything they can to reach into consumers' pocketbooks," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman and founder of America's Research Group, a consumer behavior marketing firm in Charleston, S.C. That was the point, after all.[6]
Sears posted a 99 percent profit decline in the third quarter and a 48 percent profit drop in the fourth quarter over the year-ago periods. [8]
SOURCES
1. Will Sears' stimulus check promotion stimulate sales?
2. Sears to offer bonus for stimulus checks
3. Sears Offers Bonus For Gift Cards Bought With Stimulus Checks
4. Sears wants your stimulus check - Doris Hajewski: Shop Talk
5. South Bend Tribune
6. Seeking a Slice of Your Rebate - washingtonpost.com
7. Sears Holdings eliminates another 100 jobs from its HQ staff
8. Sears cuts 100 jobs at Hoffman Estates headquarters -- chicagotribune.com
GENERATE A MULTI-SOURCE SUMMARY ON THIS SUBJECT:
Please WAIT 10-20 sec for the new window to open...
You might want to EDIT the default search query below:
Get more info on Stores to shoppers: Spend your tax rebate here, get a bonus by using the iResearch Reporter tool from Power Text Solutions.
 |
|  |
|
